To be fair I think people are just excited that South Africa could have a spinner who is a genuine match winner. Also, it is a fair effort on the part of Tahir to take five wickets (would have had six if not for a drop catch) in less than ten overs on a green wicket in overcast/cold conditions in Durban and to take so many wickets in the county championship when that to was played in conditions not conducive to spin bowling. I don’t think anyone is proclaiming him to be the second coming but the simple question is, his Tahir a better spinner than Paul Harris, yes or no?

Yeah, no-brainer, obviously.

Saw him bowl against Notts in the CC game Sky carried & he's definitely got more about him than Harris. Not an absolutely massive turner of the ball, but great control and a googly that the Notts tail couldn't pick for love nor money.

"The PFA does not represent players when they have broken the law and been convicted on non-football matters."- Gordon Taylor in 2009 following Marlon King's release after a prison sentence for sexual assault & ABH

Interesting how this thread has gone from "Imran Tahir is white apparently" to almost "Imran Tahir walks on water"

He is certainly a good addition to the South African talent pool but I dont think he is going to put them over the edge.

It's not so much that he's incredible, it's just that this is a team that has won a good seven of their last eight test series while playing a jokespinner. And suddenly they have a very good one. The quality leap's pretty huge, in a team that was already very good to begin with.

Turns out the Dolphins turned him down ( ) and what the article doesn’t go onto to say was that Goolam Bodi of the Titans and formally of Natal cricket was the guy who recommended him to the Pretoria franchise, who then asked for a second opinion on Tahir and Mohammed Yousuf was the man who gave Imran a glowing reference and urged the franchise to sign him up. So fair play to both Bodi and Yousuf!

Bodi was also the guy who forced out Kevin Pietersen.. So he owes us a quality cricketer

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

Don't like using my iPod dock. Ruins battery life too much.

Originally Posted by benchmark00

Thanks Dick Smith. Will remember to subscribe to your newsletter for more electronic fun facts.

Alviro Petersen is also in good form so far this season, he just made a hundred in each innings for the Lions against the Warriors, and had a good A series against Sri Lanka A.

That's not a bad suggestion, but dropping Bouch would be a hard thing to do, he hasn't done much wrong since he was recalled in 2005.

Score runs?

I like Bouch, really do and I doubt any other South African would have supported captain Smith like he did at Birmingham but I definitely think in regard to the one day team he should be given the axe. He worked when South Africa had the likes of Kempie, Hall and Polly in the ODI set-up for the team batted extremely low but given that South Africa don’t have such depth anymore, the more recognised and proficient batsman in the top order the better.

Haha, good grief, how on Earth did I forget Duminy is a Cape Coloured? Been a fan of his for years.

Had a shocker against England in the one day series but hopefully that was a blip and not an indication he couldn’t stand the heat. Really talented batsman but he needs to score some runs against ‘big’ sides soon.

I like Bouch, really do and I doubt any other South African would have supported captain Smith like he did at Birmingham but I definitely think in regard to the one day team he should be given the axe. He worked when South Africa had the likes of Kempie, Hall and Polly in the ODI set-up for the team batted extremely low but given that South Africa don’t have such depth anymore, the more recognised and proficient batsman in the top order the better.

Yeah, you do have a point.

Do you think AB could be a Gilchristesque keeper, coming in at 7, but being good enough to bat anywhere in the Top 6, or will keeping full-time affect his batting?

That could be a power team, having Duminy or Petersen at 6, with AB coming in at 7.

Had a shocker against England in the one day series but hopefully that was a blip and not an indication he couldn’t stand the heat. Really talented batsman but he needs to score some runs against ‘big’ sides soon.

First-Class rather than one-day cricket has always been his strength though. About the only time he ever scored ODI runs was in 2007/08. He's quite a bit younger than Owais Shah so there's currently little danger of him becoming SA's version of Shah, but his career so far has mirrored Shah's in a big way.

Do you think AB could be a Gilchristesque keeper, coming in at 7, but being good enough to bat anywhere in the Top 6, or will keeping full-time affect his batting?
That could be a power team, having Duminy or Petersen at 6, with AB coming in at 7.

He bats well with the tail, so seven could be an option especially as he wouldn't mind facing the second new ball as well. Don't think the gloves will affect his batting for he was once a full time keeper and got into the national side whilst keeping domestically.

It's more to do with how many are in the squad, 7 out of 15 i think is the target, maybe 8. Something like that.

According to Shaun Pollock, the plan is that Kallis and Boucher will leave the team together, with AB taking up the gloves (without changing his batting position, i presume) so SA can retain a 5-man attack. The team would then become something like: